What's Biting On Winnie? Everything! Bowen Lodge Fishing Report August 23, 2020

A familiar fall scene on Cutfoot Sioux, crappies, and they are beginning to turn up in the mix of fish our guests are catching. These fish were caught on Saturday August 22nd by Keith Eden (L) and Kenny Shipler (R) using Little Joe Spinners tipped with fatheads.

Nomadic in nature, crappies travel between summer and fall haunts as the lake transitions from the warm water period, into the cool water season.

For a time, crappie locations vary with both the weather and time of day. During early morning and late evening, some of them are sneaking out of vegetation and showing up along steep breaklines in water depths of 18 to 24 feet. Inside turns, adjacent to weedy flats and close the shoreline are key early season locations.

It is cool weather that helps accelerate the movement out of shallow weeds, but when conditions warm and the sun shines, many crappies will retreat back into heavy cover. Cabbage, Coontail and Wild Celery are the 3 most common locations to find them. For the moment, Cabbage appears to be the most preferred cover; that’s where the fish you see here were caught.

Presentation depends on both angler preference and level of skill. Trolling spinners tipped with fatheads is often the easiest way for folks to catch crappies in the cabbage, but not necessarily the most efficient. For peak efficiency, skilled anglers casting small jigs tipped with plastic tails are likely to do better. Creep along the weedline, casting into pockets and gaps in the vegetation using a drop-swim-drop retrieve.

Walleyes and the development of Winnie’s 2018 year class have been on the minds of anglers for a while. Now, many of those 2018 fish are reaching maturity and some of them are also reaching the fish cleaning station.

“They’re not big, but they are plentiful and folks have been anxious to get after them; almost everyone is catching fish each day. If you were to voluntarily set your sights on a 14 inch minimum size, you will catch enough “keepers” for the dinner table and have plenty of action too.” So say’s Reed Ylitalo, one of our preferred fishing guides on both Winnie and Cutfoot.

“Most folks are trolling spinners and they might be catching larger numbers of fish than me. But I’ve been fishing with jigs, tipped with decent size minnows and on average; I think it has helped my customers’ a little bit larger size fish. I’m using a 1/8 ounce Lindy Live bait Jig tipped with shiners when I can get them. Larger fatheads or rainbows will also work in a pinch.” Ylitalo added.

Walleye locations are all over the map this year, aided in part by the lake’s heavier than average algae bloom. With diminished water clarity, walleyes will move into shallow water on breezy days or during prime time feeding periods early and late in the day. It has not been unusual to catch fish in 6 to 8 feet of water; folks who have been coming here for a long time are reminded of how walleye fishing was during the “good old days”, the pre-Zebra Mussel times.

Don’t expect fish to bite all day long in the shallows though, especially not on bright, calm days. During mid-day, it’s been easier to find and catch fish in deeper water. Some of the lakes larger bars are holding fish and fishing the breaklines in 18 to 26 feet can be productive during the day.

Some of the shoreline points that lead into deep water are productive too. Fish that move shallow to feed in the morning, move deeper during the daytime. A good example would be fish that inhabit the area near Stony Point. It’s been common to for fish to migrate back and forth between shallow and deeper water; sometimes several times a day.

The lakes flats have been productive at times too; gravel and rock patches will hold fish periodically. There was an article about fishing the flats last week that contained some good tips. If you’re interested, you might want to check it out using this link to Jeff Sundin Lake Winnie Report August 19, 2020

The changeable locations will keep anglers on their toes; but anyone who keeps searching is going to be rewarded with some decent action.

Adding to the action are both perch and pike, they have been available in good numbers. The average sizes have been respectable too; anglers could set their sights on perch over 10 inches and easily be able to gather plenty for a meal.

Pike in Winnie appear to be helped by the “Northern Zone” 22 to 26 protected slot limit. This season, it has been much easier to find and catch fish that have crossed over the 26 inch mark. We haven’t seen many fish over 30 inches yet, but there have been lots of 26 to 27 inch fish.

Most of our guests are catching pike while they pursue walleyes. Whether they’re trolling spinners or using jigs and minnows, the pike just come along occasionally. Trolling crankbaits on the flats, especially the large flats on both Center and Bena Bars will produce good numbers of pike too. And if you’re into live bait rigging, A Lindy Rig tipped with large creek chubs or sucker minnows will produce fish too. The steep breaklines on all of the lakes larger mid-lake bars are good locations for rigging pike.

With fall just around the corner, it appears that our guests are in for a treat. Proven populations of walleye, pike and perch should keep most folks busy. The jury is still out about how good the panfish action will be, but there are early indications that there will be good news on that front too. All in all, it looks like we have a great fall headed our way!

Anglers Find Lake Winnie Walleyes On The Prowl

If we’ve learned anything over the past few weeks, it is that there are a lot of walleyes in Big Winnie right now.

Catching them depends on a combination of good timing, ingenuity and persistence. But any angler who sticks with it, can not only make their own “luck”, but can do it their own way.

Take the entrants in last weekend’s walleye tournament for example. Pre-fishing was a grind, sunny, calm conditions favored the walleye, but the anglers, not too much. But on tournament day, the air was cool and a steady breeze blew up a good chop on the lake; the fish decided it was time to take advantage of the feeding opportunity.

Our friend Jeff Sundin compared notes with some of his friends who finished in the top 10 and found out presentations, water depths and locations varied. There were fish caught in shallow water weeds, on the flats and in deep water too. There were fish caught on jigging baits, slip-bobbers, crankbaits and spinners; all mainstay presentations for Winnie and all readily available to our guests.

Area fishing guide, Sean Colter, who along with Dave Hernesman, finished 7th with a 5 fish weight of 23.17 pounds. That’s an impressive average of 4-1/2 pounds per fish and what helped the team cash a check, but they didn’t only catch large fish. Colter; “It was great to see all of the small fish out there.”

For Colter/Hernesman, the presentation that worked best was trolling spinners in water depths of 20 to 30 feet. “We caught a ton of fish using jigging raps too, but the spinners allowed catching fish of all sizes.”

Chris Messerschmidt, (pictured) pulled off a 2nd place win and along with Brian Messerschmidt cashed a check for $2500.00. Chris shared some info with Sundin too, Messerschmidt; “Pre-fishing was tough, but on tournament day the bite was awesome! We threw back so many 20+ inch fish it was unreal.”

Chris Messerschmidt With Lake Winnie Walleye

Trolling crankbaits on a mid-lake flat in about 14 feet of water was the key to their success.

Telling was the information Chris revealed when discussing the team’s pre-tournament strategy. “After a tough bite during the week, we planned to fill our card with small fish and then hope for a better one or two that would help move us up in the standings. But after doubling up on our first trolling pass, it was obvious that the game was on for fish on Sunday.”

Al & Bev Standly, 1st place winners of the event trolled Lindy Spinners behind traditional bullet sinkers in shallow water, 11 to 14 feet deep. “Gold and orange blades were the most productive. We started with night crawlers as the live bait, but switched over to leeches after the perch terrorized the worms.” Standly said.

Another presentation that worked for anglers over the weekend was using small jigs suspended below slip bobbers and tipped with ½ night crawlers. The secret is cruise slowly to locate fish on your electronics and then simultaneously drop your offer as you kick the engine into neutral. Allow the bait to float through the fish once, then maybe back up for a second pass. If they don’t strike in a few minutes, begin cruising again until more fish are located.

Reports from contestants indicated that many of the walleyes from the 2018 year class are getting close “keeper size.” Today, 13 inch fish are becoming common and if past growth rates are repeated, it’s not unlikely that we could see 14 inch from the strong class of 2018 later this fall. Without doubt, the fish will be desirable to most anglers during the 2021 fishing season.

We know that the fishing can’t be great every day, but it’s fun to see that when conditions turn favorable, the fish do cooperate. We know that there will still be some ups and downs, but from here on out, conditions will be more favorable, more often. As we approach fall and the walleyes natural instinct to fatten up before winter kicks in, the odds of being at the right place at the right time will only improve.

Panfish anglers have enjoyed some success recently too.

Warm weather has pushed surface water temperatures up to nearly 80 degrees and sunfish are moving into pockets and gaps between heavy vegetation. Small patches of mixed gravel and marl contain insect hatches that attract and hold panfish. You can locate them by trolling with spinners tipped with small leeches, but once you find them, it is often best to stop moving, mark the spot and fish vertically.

Crappies are showing up on the weed edges too and they are becoming easier to find during the daytime. Trolling spinners tipped with minnows along the weed edges offers a starting point. Once located, casting small jigs may be more efficient. Use jigs tipped with plastic action tails or those rigged with spinners like beetle spins or road runners. The flash of the spinners, or the swimming action of plastic tails are super-attractive during late summer.

Perch numbers appear to be lower this season, but the average size has been good. Most of the perch are being caught by anglers in search of other species. If you encounter a school of good size fish, it is a good idea to stop the boat and fish vertically. Jig and minnow combinations will work well, so will Lindy Rigs that are trimmed short, 12 to 18 inches long and tipped with small minnows.

Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux Fishing Report July 8, 2020

Lake Winnie: Too Hot To Handle?

Hot, sunny weather and calm winds have allowed surface water temperatures to sky rocket on both Cutfoot and Winnibigoshish. It doesn’t matter where we go on either lake, 80 degrees is the current minimum temperature and we’ve see a few readings pushing the 85 degree mark.

Generally speaking, fish are active but typical of the post zebra mussel era, clear water conditions do not favor anglers who target walleye during the daytime. For die-hard walleye anglers, fishing during the early morning and late evening is the secret to consistency.

If you hang around the fish cleaning shack, you might over hear anglers talking about searching for fish on mid-lake structures like bars and humps. The consensus among many is that the fish have been slow to move away from the largest, shoreline connected bars and that many of the smaller humps have few, if any fish on them. So take a look at a few of your favorite small humps if you like, but we think the best strategy for walleye anglers is to focus on the lakes largest structures.

On Winnie, finding good stretches of healthy vegetation in open areas of the main lake has been a challenge. But in the outer-extremes of the lake, healthy stands of cabbage can be located and they are holding a mixture of assorted fish. Third River Flowage, Sugar Lake, Tamarack Bay are good areas to explore.

Finding healthy vegetation to fish will be much easier in Cutfoot, shallow flats have produced dense patches of coontail, cabbage, flat stemmed pondweed and northern milfoil. During early morning, baitfish can be seen on the surface, holding over the tops of the dense greenery. Cruise the lake and observe the surface activity, this will reveal dozens of ideas about where to target fish of all species. Make note of areas with high densities of baitfish, and mark spots where you see panfish splashing or milling on the surface.

Overall, trolling presentations are probably the best way to search for fish. Spinners tipped with fatheads, night crawlers or leeches are a mainstay. Use spinners that have #3 or #4 size Indiana or Colorado blades and single 2/0 Aberdeen hooks, the longer single hook rig allows for both better hook sets and easier hook removal. Blade colors preferred by many of our guests are hammered copper, hammered gold, pink-gold, and chartreuse-gold and perch patterns.

In the weeds, use bullet sinkers ranging between 1/16 and 1/8 ounce and outside of the weedline, use heavier weights. The bullet sinkers are good to about 15 feet, but if you locate fish deeper than that, switch to bottom bouncers for more precise control. When using bottom bouncers, 1 ounce of weight for every 10 feet of water is a good rule of thumb. For example, fishing at a depth of 15 feet would call for a 1-1/2 ounce bouncer, in 20 feet of water, 2 ounces and in 25 feet of water, a 2-1/2 ounce weight would be best.

At times, the spinners will reveal the location of fish tightly grouped in a small patch of weeds. In these instances, it may be more efficient to abandon trolling in favor of fan-casting jigs tipped with plastic tails. There are so many tails that work, but we really like “Ripple Shads”, “Twister Tails” and “Beetle Spins”. All of these action type jigging baits can be used to probe deep into the vegetation and root out fish. Tipping jigs with live bait is not necessary and in many cases, counterproductive.

The same rule could apply to walleyes found in deeper water, holding on small spots. Set the spinners to the side and fish with Lindy Rigs tipped with live leeches or healthy night crawlers. Use a worm blower to help float the crawlers and small, carrot floats to help suspend the leeches higher above bottom.

There are some folks fishing at night these days and crankbaits have been effective. Focus on shoreline breaks, rock bars and shallow humps; key depths range between 10 and 16 feet. Experiment with crankbaits that run in this depth range and chances are you’ll find a couple that will work.

We think that with continued warm weather, the early morning and late evening periods will provide the best chance for action. But when the skies turn grey and there are whitecaps on the lake, daytime anglers can get in on the fun too.

Fishing Report June 23, 2020: Classic Mid-Summer Patterns Return To Lake Winnie

Walleye anglers who love to fish mid-summer, mid-lake patterns on Lake Winnie have renewed enthusiasm today. A much anticipated period of calmer, warmer weather, which will allow easier access to mid-lake fishing structure is in the forecast for this week.

Surface water temperatures have been receding, now in the mid-to-upper-60s. It happened so slowly that we barely noticed, but the lake’s water temperature went from being slightly ahead of schedule early this month, to now being lower than average, for this time of summer.

Insect hatches have not been heavy so far, but as water temperatures rise, they should intensify. Mid-lake structure adjacent to soft bottom areas will continue to attract and hold walleyes until the bug hatches eventually run their course.

Mid-Lake Bars and Humps on Lake Winnie. Photo courtesy FishRapper.com

We’ve been comparing notes with some of the top pros and the consensus among them is that walleye activity is best when you locate fish on the shallowest portions of these bars and humps. A school of fish located in 21 feet of water is far more likely to be active than another school found in 29 feet of water. That doesn’t mean that you couldn’t catch some fish from the deeper schools, but your odds will definitely go up when you focus on shallower fish.

Watch your electronics for clouds of emerging larvae and pay special attention to gaps, or clear spaces; that’s a great indicator for where you’ll find feeding walleyes.

With so many structures located in the mid lake basin, there’s virtually no way that any one angler can fish them all. Some folks fall into the trap of going to their “favorite spots” and fishing on faith, even if they’re not sure that there are good numbers of fish in the area. You could do it that way and sometimes you’d get lucky, but many times this practice turns out to be a real time waster.

Some of the better guides on the lake move from structure to structure, searching for spots that have the right ingredients. Fish located shallower on structure provide an advantage, and so do fish that are suspended slightly higher above the bottom. Moving fish are feeding fish; those hugging super tight to the bottom are less likely to strike your lures than the ones that are up and moving.

Spending a couple of hours travelling from spot to spot before you wet a line might feel like you’re wasting time, but the reward for finding the right school of fish at the right time will be well worth the effort.

Once located, Lindy Rigs tipped with leeches or night crawlers have been the most effective presentation recently. But some folks who have tried “power corking” reported some success as well.

Perch fishing has been “hit and miss” recently; we’ve heard numerous reports about big schools of smaller fish, but larger perch have been elusive. We think insect hatches have drawn many of the nicer fish into deep, soft bottom areas. Once insect hatches have run their course, perch will turn their attention back to feeding on minnows and crawfish. When they do, we’ll start hearing better reports from perch anglers again.

Panfish are gathering in greater numbers in weed patches and we’re seeing more anglers turn to these as an alternative to walleye fishing.

Key areas are cabbage patches located along the breakline in water depths of 6 to 8 feet. The best action occurs in areas where patches of weeds are slightly more open; this is why cabbage patches are important. Dense mats of heavy vegetation provide little room for fish to ambush prey and seldom produce the best panfish action.

Once located, tight lining with a 1/8 ounce jig tipped with live bait will produce sunfish, perch and rock bass. Crappie fishermen are better off casting small jigs tipped with action tails into pockets and holes along the weed edges.

Consistent Lake Winnie Walleye Pike and Perch Action Report June 12, 2020

The fishing action on both Cutfoot and Winnie has been consistent. There aren’t many who return to the docks without reporting good, mixed bag catches of walleye, pike and perch. There have been some good catches of crappie and panfish as well.

Walleye in the 15 to 17 inch range continue to be at a premium, but since fish have begun migrating toward the mid-lake bars on the big lake, we’ve had numerous reports of large walleye being caught. Many folks are catching and have opted to harvest fish over the protected 18 to 23 inch protected slot size.

We don’t discourage harvest of these larger fish, but do feel obliged to remind our guests about an important detail that is often overlooked. Our friendly reminder is that the legal possession limit for walleye over 23 inches is 1 fish. It is not okay to harvest another “over” until after you have consumed any other one that was preciously in your possession.

Reports about catching good numbers of small walleyes from the 2018 year class have been too numerous to mention. Most of these fish remain too small to interest our guests, but the growth rate in Winnie and Cutfoot is incredible and these fish are growing fast.

One of the area guides was fishing Cutfoot last week and reported catching several fish in the 13 to 13-1/2 inch range, along with one fish that crossed the 14 inch line of his ruler. These were a little larger than the fish he’d been catching on the big lake; those fish have been ranging between 11 and 13 inches. Given Winnie’s super-charged growth rate, these fish will be of interest to anglers in the 2021 season.

Presentations for walleye vary by location and depth. Guests who prefer to pursue mixed bags are sticking with shoreline breaks in water depths of 10 to 14 feet, using jig and minnow combinations. There are plenty of walleye along with bonus pike and perch, all 3 species will grab the jigs and minnows. Use 1/8 ounce sizes for starters, move up to ¼ ounce on windy days or when the fish are holding along the deeper portions of the breakline.

Walleye purists have gotten serious about Lindy Rigs tipped with live leeches and night crawlers. These have been the standard for many who fish the bars and humps on Winnie. Long, 6 to 10 foot leaders are helpful; rig them with light weight #6 hooks and use only the liveliest leeches for maximum floating power. When using night crawlers, use a worm blower to inject a small bubble of air into the worm, this will help float the worm higher into the strike-zone.

Key depths on mid-lake structures vary with weather conditions. Clouds and wind encourage fish to move up into the 16 to 20 foot range. Clear skies and calm seas can send them deeper, 24 to 28 feet has been a common holding depth.

Perch are moving deeper too, feeding on emerging insect hatches that occur in soft bottom areas adjacent to mid-lake structure. Jig and minnow, Lindy Rigs and minnows and spinners behind bottom bouncers are all good ways to attract them. Follow the deep breaklines at 26 to 30 feet to encounter schools of feeding fish.

Pike are wherever we find them these days. Obviously, cabbage weeds are good, but there are lots of these fish using rock structures and deep breaklines too. Folks who are interested in harvesting some pike for dinner should not have much trouble finding them.

The stormy, breezy weather has been hard on crappie and panfish anglers. We believe that crappies have moved off of any spawning beds that they previously occupied. Sunfish may or may not be on beds right now, there have been reports of them being caught in the deeper cabbage weeds along with crappies.

One good way to find out is by casting small spinner jigs, like a Beetle Spin into the gaps and pockets in the vegetation. Use 1/16 to 1/8 ounce lures and fish them using a swim-drop-swim-drop retrieve. When you see a nice hole in the cabbage, let the lure fall into it and watch your line, if you see a “tick”, set the hook.

We haven’t heard much about bass or musky yet, but as the water warms, some of our guests will begin to pursue them. Check back for updates next week.

We all know how crazy the situation has been this season, so it won’t surprise you to learn that we’ve had a few cancellations. So there may be an opening for an UN-planned vacation this summer. If your family feels like getting out of the house, but don’t have a vacation already on your calendar, give us a call. Maybe this is the summer that we should get to know each other.